Bill Carmichael: Faultlines at heart of Europe

As the bright young things of the European civil service popped in for a beer after a hard day spending your money, the waitress effortlessly switched between French, Flemish and English.

It was an illuminating demonstration of how history and geography affect not only language and culture but political attitudes too. Belgium is where the great powers of Europe have fought their wars – from the defeat of Napoleon just outside Brussels, to the grinding attrition of the Great War trenches in Flanders and onto the bloody drive to push Hitler eastwards and liberate the Continent.

Without the courage and audacity of those Allied soldiers, that young waitress would have been speaking German – and, were it not for the nuclear umbrella provided by Nato, she could well have been speaking Russian.

So it is no surprise that the Belgians have traditionally been among the most enthusiastic members of the EU.

After all, why object to giving up a bit of sovereignty if it means you escape a regular cycle of war and occupation?

But it is fascinating to report that even here in the belly of the beast scepticism about the "European Project" is growing.

Once seen as an exclusively British virus, scepticism has infected countries across the EU, even in traditional pro-European nations such as the Netherlands and France – as was clearly demonstrated by their emphatic "no" referendum votes on the Constitution.

This could have given the Commission pause for thought. It could have addressed the democratic deficit and perhaps devised ways to make the EU more responsive to the aspirations of modern Europeans.

But there is little evidence that that is happening. Instead the steamroller thunders on. The Irish are bullied into producing a vote more acceptable to their political masters.

"Leaders" such as Baroness Ashton and Herman Von Rompuy are anointed thanks to opaque horse-trading.

This is a pity, because the EU can claim at least some credit for one of the major achievements of the modern age – peace in Europe.

Sixty-five years ago, young men were slaughtering each other in the frozen forests of the Ardennes. Today a few miles way they sit in bland committee rooms and argue over the finer points of competition policy. That is progress.

But my fear is this – one day the reckoning will come. An organisation like the EU can't keep running forever in fear of the wishes of the people it purports to represent. And the larger the gap between what the people want and what the EU offers the more destabilising that inevitable reckoning will be.

Tomorrow's world

Fancy joining up for the Weather Modification Police?

Apparently, it involves preventing the "theft" of clouds by people who want to shoot up rockets containing silver iodide to provoke rainfall. This is not a joke, but one of the jobs of the future as outlined this week by a government-sponsored science campaign. It is supposed to excite youngsters to aspire for these jobs in 2030.

But in truth it is a depressing list with many of the jobs concerned with regulation, enforcement and bureaucracy.

There is, for example, a "quarantine enforcer" who will "guard the gates" as mortality levels rise after a deadly virus.

Then there are "climate change reversal specialists" who will fill the oceans with iron filings and erect giant umbrellas to reflect the sun's rays, "virtual lawyers" to resolve online legal disputes, and "social networking social workers" to help those traumatised by Facebook.

Did ever the future sound so utterly dismal? Still, it looks like Clipboard Man will never be out of a job.